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Exiles Trilogy
Exiles is a fantasy novel trilogy by American author Melanie Rawn. The trilogy consists of two published books, The Ruins of Ambrai 1994, The Mageborn Traitor 1997, and the as yet unpublished final novel The Captal's Tower. Exiles is set in Lenfell, a world ruled by women, where men are treated as little more than slaves. The Rising, a rebellion, is growing to combat the unjust Tier system and treatment of men and mageborns. There are predominantly three facets of power vying for control, each represented by a daughter of the House of Ambrai. Glenin, the oldest, represents the Lords of Malerris, mageborn following the Weaver. Sarra, the middle daughter, represents politics as First Daughter of Blooded adoptive family. Cailet, the youngest, represents the once-powerful and thought-to-be-extinct Mage Guardians. Mageborn A Mageborn is a person born with magical aptitude. A mageborn must learn to control her/his magic or have the magic warded; otherwise, the magic could become wild. There are two warring factions of mageborn, the Mage Guardians and the Lords of Malerris. The war between factions escalated until it nearly destroyed all of Lenfell in the Waste Wars. This battle released Wild Magic and created the Waste. After the battle people distrusted and hated mageborn. As a result many mageborn were hunted and killed, until they were thought to be extinct. Mage Guardians The Mage Guardians had been the protectors of the people of Lenfell, but after the Waste Wars many were killed and the few survivors had to go into hiding. All Mages follow the Captal, who has the knowledge of all previous Captals. There are three different specializations of Mage Guardians: Warrior Mage, Healer Mage, and Research Mage. The Warrior Mages use magic and swords in combat. They are lead by the First Sword, second in command to the Mage Captal. Healer Mages are trained to use magic and wards to heal wounds, both physical and mental. They usually excel in defensive warding. Mage Guardians do not need a specialization; they make up the majority of Mages. Mageborn who are still in training are Prentice Mages. Lords of Malerris The Lords of Malerris believe that their patron saint, the Weaver, has a plan for Lenfell woven into the Great Loom. The First Lord rules the Lords in the hidden Malerris Castle. She/he guides the others in weaving/revealing the Weaver's tapestry. The Fifth Lord acts as the scissors, cutting the strings no longer need or knotting the weaving. The strings are usually people's lives. Characters Main *'Glenin Feiran:' First Daughter of Maichen Ambrai and Auvry Feiran, she is taken by her father, Auvry Feiran, after he betrays Ambrai to the Lords of Malerris. Her Name was changed to Feiran in 951. He raises her at Ryka Court under the tutleage of First Councillor Anniyas. *'Sarra Liwellan:' Second daughter of Maichen Ambrai and Auvry Feiran, she is rescued from the destruction of Ambrai by First Sword Gorynel Desse, who wards her identity as an Ambrai with magic. He brings her to Agatine Slegin and Orlin Renne, who raise Sarra as their adopted First Daughter. *'Cailet Rille:' Youngest daughter of Maichen Ambrai and Auvry Feiran, she is born after the fall of Ambrai and in secret. She is raised by Lilen Ostin in the Waste and is latter trained by Gorynel Desse to be a Mage Guardian. *'Collan Rosvenir:' His true identity is warded, along with many memories; however, he remembers being a slave and being trained by the famous bard, Falundir. He is a minstrel. Major *'Avira Anniyas:' First Councillor and First Lord of Malerris, she presides of the Senate and secretly the Lords of Malerris. She has Glenin marry her only son in order to produce a powerful mageborn grandson. *'Mikel Liwellan:' Sarra's mageborn son and Taigan's twin *'Taigan Liwellan:' Sarra's mageborn First Daughter and Mikel's twin *'Gorynel Desse:' First Sword, he rescues Sarra and her pregnant mother from the ruins of Ambrai and hides their identities, along with Cailet's. He is responsible for warding Collan's memories and for training Cailet as a mage. *'Josselin Mikleine:' An orphan, he is rescued by Collan from essential slavery. He has a talent for making things grow and is mageborn. *'Jored Karellos:' An orphan mageborn, he appears at Mage Hall and developes a relationship with Taigan. Minor * Lilen Ostin * Chava Allard * Golonet Doriaz * Saris Allard * Granon Bekke * Taig Ostin * Maichen Ambrai * Auvry Feiran * Garon Anniyas Lenfell Sociopolitical Structure Lenfell is ruled by women as a result of the catastrophic Waste Wars between the Mage Guardians and the Lords of Malerris. Due to the difficulty in giving birth and the need to repopulate, women of particular bloodlines became essential to survival. This need created the elevated station of women over men and the Tier system. Religion The peoples of Lenfell believe in a Calendar of Saints. Each Saint has a dedicated week in the thirty-six week calendar. There is also Wraithenday, which commemorates the fallen of the past. Given names are almost always variations of a Saint's name (their Name Saint) and each person has a Birth Saint for the Week of their birth. Each Saint is a patron of various abilities or characteristics. A person is free the follow and/or pray to whichever Saint she/he chooses, the exception being the Lords of Malerris, who only follow the Weaver. Various Saints and their associated patronage are listed below. A complete calendar can be found here. External links * Official website Category:Exiles Trilogy